Four Reasons to Buy a House Portrait

From HGTV to Instagram, you may have seen house portraits popping up as popular artworks to hang in your home. After all, they are a great way to capture that special home and its memories forever. Why buy a custom house portrait? Here are four reasons you might want to add one to your cart today!

1. Moving/New Home Gifts
Know someone who’s moving house? Consider gifting them a custom house portrait, either of the beloved home they’re leaving behind, or as a welcome gift for the new house that will be their next chapter. Expect grateful tears when new home owner opens their portrait!

2. Closing Gifts
I’ve had a few realtors reach out to me to create a custom house portrait for a client who is closing on their new home. If you’re looking for a gift that has more impact than a scented candle, a custom house portrait could do the job perfectly. Consider adding the new home owners’ pet to the portrait for an extra-special touch!

3. Birthdays/Anniversaries/Holiday Gifts
Nothing says “I was thinking of you” like the gift of a custom house portrait. I hear over and over again how much clients’ loved ones appreciate their house portraits. If you have someone in your life who loves their house, a portrait to hang on the wall could be the perfect present! Also consider ordering a portrait of a home that holds special significance to them: maybe their childhood home, grandparents’ home, or the home they brought their first child to.

4. Treat Yourself!
You don’t need a special occasion to order a custom house portrait! You can treat yourself to one just because you love your home and want it captured for years to come. I have a gallery wall in my house where I’m collecting portraits of all the important houses from my life so far. Think about ordering your own home portrait to dress up the walls of your special home!

As you can see, custom house portraits make the perfect gifts, whether they be for moving, closing, birthdays, or just to make yourself happy. This popular form of artwork will certainly be captivating home owners for years to come!

To order a custom house portrait, click here.

314 Cornelius St.

314 Cornelius Street was a departure from the historic houses I had done so far. I was contacted by a realtor who loved the idea of giving a custom house portrait as a closing gift for her client. I agreed that it was a great idea, and took on the challenge! I was expecting to paint another single-family home, but I got something entirely different: a new construction, multi-unit condominium!

This portrait was by far the most challenging I’ve done simply because of how many straight lines and angles there are. Getting the building in proportion was a challenge, but after several attempts I got it nailed down. My handy dandy ruler got quite a work out on this one! This is also the first portrait I completed with brick siding, and painting all of those individual bricks was a labor of love.

I can see my work becoming more detailed in this portrait—something that followed with me on the subsequent portraits I’ve painted. All in all, Cornelius Street was a great way to stretch my capabilities. And the good news: the client loved it!

To order your own custom house portrait, click here.

501 W. South St.

This house holds a very special place in my heart. My aunt and uncle purchased this 1908 Dutch Colonial and completely renovated/restored it, down to the studs. They made sure to keep all the original character and charm of the house, from the multiple grand fireplaces to the original front door to the stained glass windows in the foyer.

Growing up, my cousin was like a sister to me, and I spent countless weekends, sleepovers, and holidays at her house. I’ll always associate it with the smell of baking yeast rolls for Thanksgiving dinner.

My favorite parts of this portrait are the gingerbread scallops on the second story, the porch swing, and the neighborhood cat who could always be found lounging on the front porch!

To order your own custom house portrait, click here.

Katelyn’s Portrait

Back when the Paint Meg Paint Facebook page reached its first milestone of 250 followers, I did a giveaway for a gift card to put towards a portrait of your choice. The winner of that gift card was Katelyn!

Katelyn and I go back to when I was a brand new teacher at my very first school. Kate happened to also be teaching at a school nearby, and we instantly connected over our shared teaching philosophies. Katelyn became a trusted friend and confidant for me, and even though she’s now moved many states away, we still keep in touch and share the important things going on in our lives.

One of the important things in Katelyn’s life is getting together with her wonderful girlfriend! I was so thrilled when she shared the news with me, and even more thrilled when she told me she’d be using her gift card on a portrait of the two of them! The photo Katelyn sent me showcased coordinating black outfits that captured each of their personalities perfectly. Their pose shows just how much they love each other, so I didn’t do much to change the composition. They were absolutely perfect just as they were! My very favorite part of this portrait was painting her girlfriend’s shiny loafers.

Thank you, Katelyn, for letting me capture the two of you! It was a pleasure for sure!

To order your own family portrait, click here.

402 S. Garfield St.

Introducing my very first house portrait!

I have always loved the show Hometown on HGTV. I am an old house lover like Ben and Erin, and it makes my heart happy to see them restore old homes to their former beauty. If you’ve watched the show before, you know that Erin is a talented artist who gifts each family with a beautiful portrait of their new (old) home. It’s been a dream of mine to take inspiration from Erin’s work and paint house portraits myself. I finally got up the gumption to try!

I started with my own home, a 1921 bungalow at 402 S. Garfield St. When I purchased my home in November of 2021, I was so charmed by the gracious front porch, the classic craftsman columns, and the original front door. I couldn’t wait to paint it. I think for my first portrait it turned out pretty great! It was a new challenge for me to use a ruler and get all the angles and lines just right, but I enjoyed the detailed work immensely. I think this house portrait has kicked me off on a great adventure capturing beloved homes for clients far and wide!

What do you think? Would you want to live in my bungalow?

To order your own custom house portrait, click here.